I disagree with many of his views and beliefs but this is definitely something really nice to see from a Muslim leader:

“In the Name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful.

Upon the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, Son of Mary, the Word of God, the Messenger of mercy, I would like to congratulate the followers of Abrahamic faiths, especially the followers of Jesus Christ, and the people of Britain.Read the rest of this entry »

During this holiday season of hard times, not even houses of God have been spared. Some lenders believe more churches than ever have fallen behind on loans or defaulted this year. Some churches, and at least one company that specialized in church lending, have filed for bankruptcy. Church giving is down as much as 15% in some places, pastors and lenders report.

The financial problems are crimping a church building boom that began in the 1990s, when megachurches multiplied, turning many houses of worship into suburban social centers complete with bookstores, gyms and coffee bars. Lenders say mortgage applications are down, while some commercial lenders no longer see churches as a safe investment.

I wonder if the masajid in America have a seen a decline in donations.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — From a distance, it looks like an apparition: a huge multi-colored hot-air balloon floating in the Baghdad sky, bearing a large poster of Jesus Christ. Below it, an Iraqi flag

Welcome to the first-ever public Christmas celebration in Baghdad, held Saturday and sponsored by the Iraqi Interior Ministry. Once thought to be infiltrated by death squads, the Ministry now is trying to root out sectarian violence — as well as improve its P.R. image.

…

Even before I can ask Interior Ministry spokesman Major-General Abdul Karim Khalaf a question, he greets me with a big smile. “All Iraqis are Christian today!” he says.

Some Muslims love to talk about how the Jews control everything and some other Muslims love to say how this is all a conspiracy theory and that those Muslims just need a scapegoat to complain for their lack in trying to become a powerful in America. Well here is an interesting piece written by a Jew himself, Joel Stein:

How deeply Jewish is Hollywood? When the studio chiefs took out a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times a few weeks ago to demand that the Screen Actors Guild settle its contract, the open letter was signed by: News Corp. President Peter Chernin (Jewish), Paramount Pictures Chairman Brad Grey (Jewish), Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert Iger (Jewish), Sony Pictures Chairman Michael Lynton (surprise, Dutch Jew), Warner Bros. Chairman Barry Meyer (Jewish), CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves (so Jewish his great uncle was the first prime minister of Israel), MGM Chairman Harry Sloan (Jewish) and NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker (mega-Jewish). If either of the Weinstein brothers had signed, this group would have not only the power to shut down all film production but to form a minyan with enough Fiji water on hand to fill a mikvah.

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia judge ordered a Muslim woman arrested Tuesday for contempt of court for refusing to take off her head scarf at a security checkpoint.

The judge ordered Lisa Valentine, 40, to serve 10 days in jail, said police in Douglasville, a city of about 20,000 people on Atlanta’s west suburban outskirts.

Valentine violated a court policy that prohibits people from wearing any headgear in court, police said.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations urged federal authorities to investigate the incident as well as others in Georgia.

“I just felt stripped of my civil, my human rights,” Valentine told The Associated Press on Wednesday from her home, after she said she was unexpectedly released once CAIR got involved. Jail officials declined to say why she was freed.

This is an amazing story. May Allah continue to bless the world with the true message of Islam! Ameen:

Growing numbers convert to Islam in PNG

In Papua New Guinea a growing number of people are now choosing to pray at a mosque rather than a church.

PNG is experiencing a sharp increase in the number of people turning their backs on Christianity and converting to Islam.

“A lot of Papua New Guineans are converting to Islam not because they don’t like the other religion. It’s just they’ve become, they feel comfortable in there,” said Khalid, an Imam who received his training in Malaysia.

“The practice of Islam is much easier than the other religions. In the religion of Islam you are your own preacher. You learn how to pray.

“God is not only in the mosque, it’s everywhere. So if I don’t come into the mosque, the house of prayer, I can pray under the trees, in the house, anywhere.”

Papua New Guineans began converting to Islam in the early 1980s, and there are now more than 4,000 followers with recent reports of entire villages converting at the same time.

Many are drawn to Islam because of the similarities the religion has with Melanesian customs, says Isa Teine, the general secretary for PNG’s Islamic Society.

“When we greet people we hug them. This is Islam. We don’t shake hands and leave them, so most of our cultures are Islamic,” she said.

“Polygamy – this is Islam. Islam encourages four wives. Before Islam came in, people already had two, three, four wives. This is Islam.

“So when the religion came in and said, ‘oh we have to do this, our Islamic culture, we have to do this and that’, people fit in easily. So it’s very easy for Papua New Guineans to embrace Islam.

“Once the religion itself spread I tell you, I’m just predicting in 20, 30 years’ time, all Papua New Guinea will submit to Islam.”

Church leaders like Pastor Joseph Walters say they do not feel threatened by the rapid growth of Islam.

“This nation is a very strong Christian country and I travel around a lot preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God around the nation and the people generally are very strong, very dedicated, very committed to the Christian faith,” he said.

“And so it may look like a threat to Christian faith in the country, but as a church leader in this country the way I see this, and because I travel a lot in crusades and just talking to people, Christianity is even stronger than ever before.”

But not everyone has embraced the religion, with incidents of discrimination and Islam phobia quite common.

The mosque in downtown Port Moresby has been fire-bombed, there is a bullet hole in one of the windows, and a senior PNG Government minister once said that Islam was dangerous and a serious threat to peace and unity here.

“There is not much understanding,” Khalid said.

“There is not adequate understanding by the people of this country about Islam, because the more negative pictures are painted on the religion of Islam, the more people tend to believe what the other people say instead of coming and hearing from the Muslims.

Khalid says attitudes will change as the number of Papua New Guineans converting to Islam continues to increase.

Excellent. It’s mostly on Obama’s relation with Palestine and Israel. Must read:

November 3, 2008

Open letter to Senator Barack Obama

Dear Senator Obama:

In your nearly two-year presidential campaign, the words “hope and change,” “change and hope” have been your trademark declarations. Yet there is an asymmetry between those objectives and your political character that succumbs to contrary centers of power that want not “hope and change” but the continuation of the power-entrenched status quo.Read the rest of this entry »

The kosher cellphone looks like an ordinary cellphone, can make and receive calls, and may have a calculator and alarm clock.

But it cannot send or receive text messages, browse the internet or take photos – all activities that could potentially involve behaviour considered “immodest” among Haredis.

For example, SMS capability could lead to the unwitting receipt of mass text messages publicising secular events. It could also be used as a method of illicit communication between male and female teenagers.

They call it self-control:

She expresses concern over the amount of time people devote to surfing the net, wasting time they could spend learning Torah or doing good deeds.

Her main worry, however, is over the lack of control over content.

“There are many things on the internet that are not appropriate for me as a Haredi woman, things I would prefer that my family and I didn’t see or hear, like violence, pornography and inappropriate sexual relations,” she says.

For Haredis, “inappropriate” means any physical contact between a man and a woman who are not married.

But Avi, who says he needs the internet for his work in the tourist industry, has unfiltered online access.

“I’m not afraid of the negative aspects because I grew up with internet and I feel I can control myself not to use the bad features,” he says.

This is a promo video of the organization called ONE which is trying to put an end to worldwide hunger and poverty. They are reaching out to the various faiths in trying to mobilize each religious community to join and help the fight against hunger and poverty through out the world. The sad reality is that many of these poverty stricken people are Muslims but yet there is a lack of Muslim help on such a large scale like ONE. Imam Johari Abdul Malik and Native Deen’s, Naeem Muhammad, are featured in the video.